A BMX Freestyle rider who qualified to be an alternate on the U.S. Olympic team at the summer games in Tokyo this year previously expressed wanting to win an Olympic medal “so I can burn the US flag on the podium.”
“My goal is to win the Olympics so I can burn a US flag on the podium. This is what they focus on during a pandemic. Hurting trans children,” Chelsea Wolfe, a transgender woman, wrote on Facebook on March 25, 2020, according to a screenshot by Fox News.
The post was written along with a link to a PinkNews story regarding the Trump administration’s position on transgender girls competing against biological females.
Wolfe told Fox that she cares about the United States despite the now-deleted post.
“Anyone who thinks that I don’t care about the United States is sorely mistaken,” Wolfe said. “One of the reasons why I work so hard to represent the United States in international competition is to show the world that this country has morals and values, that it’s not all of the bad things that we’re known for. I take a stand against fascism because I care about this country and I’m not going to let it fall into the hands of fascists after so many people have fought and sacrificed to prevent fascism from taking hold abroad. As a citizen who wants to be proud of my home country, I’m sure as hell not going to let it take hold here.”
Last week, Wolfe wrote on Instagram that she was “honored” to be chosen as an alternative for Team USA, including an image with the words, “Let me tell ya’ll the story of a girl with a dream.”
“It’s taking a bit to fully register that after so many years of work we finally have the @teamusa bmx freestyle squad for the @olympics, and that after so much work and overcoming so many obstacles that I’ve qualified to represent the United States as the alternate rider,” the post stated. “I am positively a different person than when I set off on this journey and I’m so grateful for every experience along the way and I’m so excited and honored to keep working so I’m ready to shred in Tokyo in case I’m needed.”
Wolfe then congratulated fellow BMX riders along with an American flag emoji.
The International Olympic Committee requires athletes who transition from male to female to prove they have total testosterone levels below a specified amount for at least a year before the competition, and athletes must identify as female for a minimum of four years prior to the games.
